A Vulcan Christmas
by Theelusivefanboy
Summary: (Ok so this is going to cliche as hell but I'm writing it for a Secret Santa thing I'm participating in so that's my excuse.) Spock, with a little help from his friend(s), re-learns how to celebrate Christmas. Also: Klingons.
1. Chapter 1

_Aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701, somewhere in the Alpha Quadrant (25__th__ December 2267):_

Spock sits alone at a table in the corner of the Mess Hall; around him his colleagues are singing and talking amongst themselves and the room is decked out in various multicoloured and shimmering lights and decorations. In another corner of the room an enormous tree has been erected and below it lays many garishly wrapped gifts.

Spock is there only because Jim insisted that he attend and Spock would never disobey his Captain... no matter how illogical he was being. He does not see why he has to be there as he does not celebrate Christmas as they do. To Spock, and countless other Vulcans, 25th December was merely one more day of the year.

The Captain himself is over on the other side of the room, chatting with his fellow Starfleet officers. He is still wearing his official captain's uniform, but he has sportingly opted to wear a bright red Santa hat which is currently sitting lopsided upon his head. One of the ensigns appears to make a joke as the Captain and the others standing nearby burst out into raucous laughter that Spock can quite clearly hear from his position.

Spock lets out a slight exhalation of air through his closed mouth and glances back down to the report he was reading on his PADD. He doesn't have much time to read any further however as he senses someone approaching.

Spock glances up as the Captain approaches his table, weaving his way through the crew with a mug of 'egg-nog' held aloft in his hand. "Spock" he shouts out gleefully, "what're you doing way over here by yourself?"

"Captain", Spock inclines his head at the captain, "you are well aware that I have no interest in participating with the celebrations on this day, nor indeed on any other day."

Kirk loses his boyish grin and implores "but Spock, it's Christmas!" his hands held out towards Spock as if begging him to agree.

"I am well aware of what this date corresponds to amongst humans Captain."

Kirk sighs exasperatedly and takes a seat next to Spock at the table, finally placing his mug down which almost topples over in the process. "Spock," he lowers his voice marginally "I had hoped that you, out of all of the Vulcans, would have a better understanding of what Christmas is all about."

Spock lifts an eyebrow and inquires "Why would I, of all the other Vulcans, have a... _better_ understanding of this?"

"Well, because..." splutters Kirk, "you're half human! Surely your mother used to celebrate Christmas with you!"

"I grew up on Vulcan," states Spock "and furthermore my Mother was well aware that I did not follow the majority of the more common human customs and as such did not wish to celebrate Christmas with her"

Kirk seems almost heartbroken as he stares at Spock beseechingly "But..." he splutters as he attempts think of understand his friend's words. "Hanukkah! Did she celebrate Hanukkah?"

"No Captain my Mother did not celebrate Hanukkah... and before you ask: no she did not celebrate any of the other similar seasonal celebrations either."

"You two never celebrated anything like Christmas together, ever?" Kirk inquires dejectedly.

"Never, Captain" replies Spock as he reaches over to move the Captain's mug further from his arm. The Captain is clearly inebriated and even when sober he has a tendency to flail his arms about dramatically when he is trying to make a point.

"I am sorry my friend" says Kirk, looking amusedly down at his mug's new position.

"Sorry?" asks Spock "what are you sorry for Captain?"

Kirk smiles at his friend wistfully "I am sorry that you never got to experience something as magical as Christmas with your mother, like I got to do with mine. It is one of my more pleasant memories of my childhood."

Spock almost seems confused and he starts to inquire what the Captain truly means when, at that moment, Bones saunters up to the table and wraps one of his arms around the captain's shoulders.

"Jim!" he grins down at his friend and Captain "Happy Christmas!"

"Happy Christmas to you too Bones" smiles Kirk at his friend, and raises his mug in a toast towards Bones' own glass that is held precariously in his hand.

Bones turns towards Spock and says "Spock, I see you're not joining in with the party. Now isn't that a surprise (!)"

Spock inclines his head in the Doctor's direction and says "Doctor, I do believe that was sarcasm on your part. As you are well aware of, and have mentioned on numerous occasions, I am a Vulcan and as such I do not partake in these seemingly meaningless customs that you humans seem so fond of."

"Seeming meaningless?!" splutters an outraged Bones as he slips into the seat on the other side of Spock "why you green-blooded... Vulcan! As much as you like to pretend otherwise you are half human, and your mother is a full-blooded human. Surely out of respect for her you would at least consider joining in with our _silly little customs. _I think you'd find there's more meaning behind them than you'd think." He finished indignantly and crosses his arms over his chest.

"I apologise Doctor, I had not intended to offend you I was merely trying to illustrate to the Captain that I have no desire to join in with these festivities and nor have I ever done so in the past."

Jim, as he all too accustomed to doing, decides to step in before their argument gets out of hand "Gentlemen please, it's Christmas: the time when we are supposed to show good will towards all men. Can't you two just agree to disagree for once?" he pleads exasperatedly "and Spock" he turns to look at Spock as he says this "I didn't mean to pressure you into anything. If you really don't want to join in then that's fine. But... if would please me if you would at least _try _to look like you're taking part. I would like to celebrate Christmas with my closest friends, which as it turns out includes you."

Spock pauses briefly to consider his friend's words and then briefly nods his head to the Captain. "I apologise Captain. I had not realised how much this day meant to you. I will attempt to 'blend in' as it were with the others in this room."

Captain Kirk beams at Spock and clasps his shoulder, "Thank you my friend!"

The Captain and Spock rise out of their seats and make their way over towards the celebration.

"Yes," mumbles Bones behind them "thanks ever so much for deciding to _grace us _with your presence (!)"


	2. Chapter 2

_Somewhere in Shi'Kahr, Vulcan (circa 2236):_

A small Vulcan boy of roughly six years of age sits in his room, his pet Sehlat by his side, while his human mother watches from the doorway with a smile upon her face. The boy is studying from a PADD he holds in his hands, while his pet attempts to distract him. His brow is furrowed in concentration and irritation, something he undoubtedly would not show when he was older, but he is currently too young to have complete control over his emotions.

"Spock", she calls to him and he turns towards her "Yes, Mother?"

"I have something to show you" she holds her hand out towards him "come, my child".

Spock immediately stands up, placing his PADD upon the soft surface of the bed next to him, and places his small hand within hers, his Sehlat watching on curiously by his feet.

Amanda leads him through their house and down into the main room where there is a small pile of boxes in the middle of the room of various sizes and shapes. Spock gazes down at the boxes curiously and then asks her what they are.

"These," Amanda explains to him, "are my old Christmas decorations. Do you remember from your lessons what Christmas is?"

The young boy nods and says "Yes Mother, it is an annual event that the humans celebrate. The Christians used that date, the 25th of December, to remember the birth of their Messiah: Jesus Christ. Although over the centuries the celebration has evolved and is now more of a heavily commercialised event wherein the humans exchange gifts and decorate their homes. It is also of note that not all humans celebrate this event, mostly depending upon their religious beliefs and their upbringing."

"Yes," says Amanda, "all of this _is _true. However, this is not everything..." she sits down on a sofa nearby and gestures for Spock to take the spot next to her. "Come here my child, and I will tell you what _I _think Christmas is all about."

Spock comes over and sits down next to her, turning to face her and give her his undivided attention.

Amanda hesitates for a moment as to where to begin and then says "when I was a little girl, not much older than you are now, I lived with my mother and father back home on Earth. My parents were both school teachers, like myself. We had a happy and peaceful life, and I have very fond memories of those days." She smiles down at Spock and continues "some of my fondest memories were of Christmas. Every year, when the seasons changed and it grew colder and darker our household would seem to get... brighter and livelier. There would be Christmas decorations hanging from practically _everywhere_" she manages to sound both exasperated and fond "my father always would go a little overboard on the decorations, and every year I swear there were more than the last. My mother would always focus more on the buying of gifts for friends and family, and she would also frequently sing along to the Christmas music that would be almost constantly playing throughout December."

At this point Spock interrupts her to inquire "what sort of music would they listen to Mother?"

"Oh," replies Amanda, "all sorts of music! There would be the traditional Christmas songs and hymns of course, and also the more contemporary and popular Christmas-themed songs. Everyone had different preferences over what to listen to at Christmas. I must admit that I myself preferred the more traditional songs, and some of the hymns... Would you like to listen to them later? I could play some of my favourites for us to listen to" inquires Amanda of her son.

"Very well," replies Spock, "I am interested to learn more of this Christmas. For example: would someone celebrate Christmas if they were not a Christian and if so, why would they celebrate it?"

Amanda laughs and says "ah yes, well there are many who celebrate Christmas without any religious meaning behind it. Why do they celebrate it? Because all Humans are illogical of course, didn't you know?" She laughs again and smiles down at her son, who does not look amused but that is unsurprising. It would have been more surprising if he had shown even one trace of amusement upon his visage.

"It is just a very old tradition now among humans, and an integral part of our culture, even now when we have so many differing cultures and traditions on Earth. I know that some of the non-humans on my home planet also celebrate it now. Mostly because it is something their loves ones celebrate, and Christmas is a time to share with your loved ones after all." Amanda sighed wistfully and glanced over at the piles of boxes on the floor with a slight smile. "I do miss it so."

She looks back over towards Spock and seems to snap out of whatever memory she was reliving in her head.

"I have spoken to your father about it and he has decided that it would be a good idea if I were to introduce you to the customs that I celebrate at this time. It would be a good experience for you, to learn more about human culture, and to indulge your mother's wishes of course".

Spock nods sagely "that sounds logical".

Amanda chuckles at her son and then proceeds to move gracefully off the sofa and over towards one of the larger boxes in the room, she kneels down beside it and opens it up. "This" she starts, gesturing at the contents of the box "is the Christmas tree. It is a very old one, made of plastic, and is the very same one that used to be displayed in my child hood home every year. Many prefer, or preferred, to use real trees and procure a new one each year. However my mother always hated the mess that this would create in our living room. Also, it's not helpful to the environment to cut down so many trees every Christmas which would only be discarded come the New Year."

Amanda starts gathering the 'branches' of the tree out of the box and placing them on the floor by her feet, and then arranges them in order of size. Spock watches her actions curiously from his seat. She finishes emptying the box and sorting through the contents. "I was hoping you would help me to put up the Christmas tree and decorate it, it's traditional for families to do this together – particularly with their children". She has a hopeful look on her face as she kneels among piles of green plastic branches and addresses her son.

"Very well", Spock gets up from his seat and carefully manoeuvres around the piles, glancing at them as if trying to figure out where he is supposed to start from.

"Here", Amanda picks up two interlocking green parts that make up the base of the tree. She slots them together and then hands them to Spock. "This is the base of the tree. Why don't you place it over there in that corner? I cleared the space earlier." She gestures at an empty spot in the corner of the room closest to them.

"Very well," replies Spock and proceeds to do just as she asked. Once he's placed the base there Amanda appears next to him with the largest piece from the box. "This is the 'trunk' of the tree as it were. Itshould slot directly into the base." She hands this to him also and watches as he puts it into the slot in the base. "You have to force it in a bit I'm afraid, or it might fall out and the tree would topple over!" Spock lets out a soft grunt of exertion as he places both small hands on the piece and attempts to push it in. Seeing that Spock is struggling to push it in, Amanda reaches over and helps him with it. The piece slots into place with a soft 'click' sound.

"There we go" she smiles at him and moves over to the smaller branches "these ones should fit in easier" They proceed to finish putting up the Christmas tree together.

Later, when they have finished, they step back to look upon their creation. Before them stands a tall tree, covered in tinsel and baubles and fairy lights. Amanda seems quite pleased with the sight and Spock has to admit that it does look aesthetically pleasing.

Now they move to stand before a smaller pile of boxes, these ones are covered in Christmas themed paper. There are boxes of various shapes and sizes. Most of them have labels attached to them. Spock picks up one of the smaller boxes and reads the label out loud. "To my dearest Spock, Happy Christmas, love - your mother" He places the present back on the pile and steps closer to look at the rest of the label. There are many more presents for him, and there are also some presents with labels for Sarek, from Amanda.

"Are these also a part of the Christmas celebration Mother?" he turns to face his mother who had been watching him inspect the labels. She seemed highly amused by something, but he did not know what until she reached over and grabbed something off the top of his head. When she took her hand away she was holding a piece of silver tinsel. It must have gotten caught in his hair while they were putting it on the tree.

"Yes they are," she replies "I bought various gifts for both you and your father. Now I just have to put them under the Christmas tree."

"For what purpose do they have to be placed under the Christmas tree?" inquires Spock.

She opens her mouth to reply and then hesitates "You know... I'm not entirely sure on that part. It's just what is done. The presents are placed under the tree and remain there until Christmas Day. Upon which the family gathers around the tree and the presents are distributed to be opened by their recipients."

"We must wait until Christmas Day to open the presents?" For a moment Amanda thought he very much resembled a typical human boy whining that he had to wait to open his presents. Chuckling slightly she informed him that that was a very important part of the tradition as everyone had to be together for the opening of the presents, and that they were supposed to spend Christmas Day together as a family.

"Very well," replies Spock "we shall wait until Christmas Day to distribute the presents, as according to human tradition"


	3. Chapter 3

_Aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701, somewhere in the Alpha Quadrant (25__th__ December 2267):_

Captain Kirk stands in the middle of a small crowd of Starfleet officers, all of whom are hanging on to his every word, which is not particularly unusual as he is the Captain and generally has quite a presence in the room. Especially when he is inebriated and wearing a bright red Santa hat upon his head.

"And then he said... a croaking device!" exclaims an almost breathless Kirk who doubles over in laughter, with bright red cheeks and clutching his midriff as if in pain.

All the assembled officers burst out laughing as well, except for Spock who simply watches them fascinated at the social interactions occurring around him. Since the moment they had joined the group amassed in the middle of the mess hall, the Captain had been telling jokes and stories to the all those in the vicinity. At one point he and Bones had also entertained them all with a joyful duet of 'Good King Wenceslas', which had surprised most of them as they had not been previously aware of the good Doctor's excellent tenor vocals.

The Captain glances at his watch and straightens himself back up; clapping his hands together he gathers back the attention of the party-goers who look at him expectantly.

"I do believe it is time for the gifts" exclaims an obviously excited Kirk, beaming from ear to ear and acting much like a Klingon standing in the world's largest armoury. His words seem to have a similar impact upon the others many of whom are now also grinning and moving over towards the Christmas tree which has been mostly ignored all day, everyone having already deposited gifts under it during the previous few weeks.

It does not contain gifts for all of the crewmembers. If they had all been in attendance there would have been far too many people in the room and far too many gifts under the tree to even fit under there. The ship is currently running a skeleton crew as many of the officers had requested shore leave for the holiday and are now currently celebrating amongst friends and family on nearby planets.

The ones who have stayed behind are the ones necessary to keep the ship running, which includes a lot of the engineering crew, the Doctor, the Captain, and the second in command Spock. Chekov and Sulu are amongst those that are not currently onboard; however Uhura and Scotty are still on board. Uhura was sitting at a table in the far side of the mess hall with a few of the ensigns, but upon the Captain's words has made her way to rest of the group with the ensigns trailing along behind her.

Scotty had been in attendance earlier but he had slipped out of the room once everyone had become inebriated enough to not notice his absence, and he was currently back down in the engineering section of the ship doing what he loved the most. He had even decorated the consoles with tinsel and fairy lights. He may or may not have also bought a present for the ship, and he may or may not currently be lovingly undoing the bright red ribbon on it whilst cooing softly at the warp core.

Back in the mess hall everyone has gathered around the Christmas tree, and the Captain has volunteered to be the first to select a gift to give out. He is currently on one knee down by the pile of gifts rooting around the various boxes and packages to find what he is looking for.

"Aha!" he crows triumphantly like a badly scripted soap opera actor and lifts the gift out of the pile. It is a relatively small, and thin, box wrapped in silver wrapping paper and without a bow. On the gift there are two labels, one of which says FRAGILE in bright red letters and the other says Bones.

The Captain stands up and walks over to the Doctor presenting him with his gift at which Bones smiles warmly at him and says with a flamboyant flair to his words "why Jim, you shouldn't have!"

Kirk laughs good-naturedly at his friend and says impatiently "well come on then, open it already!"

"All right all right, hold your horses." He rips open the side of the box to reveal some cardboard but not clue as to what the gift is yet. Intrigued he rips off the rest of the wrapping and laughs delightedly upon realising that he is holding in his hands an expensive bottle of single malt Whisky.

"I don't believe it," says Bones, "I didn't know they even sold this anymore." He turns the bottle around in his hands to stare at the label.

"They don't!" exclaims Kirk triumphantly "Not really. Someone had some very old casks of the stuff stored away for about 50 years. They took good care of the stuff and bottled some off to sell recently. Only a small handful of bottles were put up for sale. I managed to snag one of them for you."

"Why... Jim... I... thank you. I almost don't want to open it! I think I'd have to save it for a special event" says Bones.

"Aw come on Bones, I bought it for you to enjoy. Not so that you could put it back into storage! Come on, tomorrow you and me can open it up and try it" says Kirk to Bones imploringly.

"Oh all right," agrees Bones, "it's not like it would take much to convince me. I can't wait to try this out. I've never tried once this old before. I've only ever had one that was about 30 years old before."

"Excellent, my friend!" Kirk beams at Bones, and turns to face the rest of the crewmembers. "Right then, who's next?"

Nurse Chapel steps forward from the crowd and states that she would like to give a present out now. Kirk bows her onwards his a long sweep of his arm towards the tree. She moves over to the tree, kneels down next to the gifts, and rummages around for a moment before standing up holding a relatively thing box in her hands. The box is a thin rectangle shape and is covered in silver wrapping paper, with a matching silver bow around it.

She turns to face the crowd, her head down staring at the box that is grasped tightly with both of her hands, a soft pink flush across her cheeks. She takes a deep breath and utters one word, "Spock", which causes Captain Kirk to grin and many other crewmembers to stifle their laughter. Kirk thought he really should have expected this. All eyes in the room start searching for the elusive Science Officer, who is currently standing at the outermost side of the crowd of officers. They part to each side when they realise he is there, allowing him room to move forwards, and further attracting attention of the rest of the crew as they have finally realised where he is.

Spock, reluctantly, moves across the room towards Nurse Chapel. She is still staring down at the box in her hands, and seems too embarrassed to raise her eyes upwards but does so when she spots a pair of black shoes in front of her. She looks up and sees Spock staring down at her, one eyebrow raised slightly in question. "Here", she pushed the box towards his chest "I got this for you... Merry Christmas, Spock".

Spock takes the box from her hands and says "I cannot accept this". This causes Nurse Chapel to look up, startled, and exclaim "but... why? You haven't even opened it yet, how can you know if you like it or not?"

"It is not a question of whether or not the gift pleases me. I am aware of the custom of gift-giving at this time and that it is a requisite that one is supposed to purchase a gift for an individual who purchases a gift for you. I have not purchased a gift for you, as I do not typically celebrate these traditions, and that is why I cannot accept this." He pushes the gift back towards her but she holds her hands palms-up, and says "I do not require you to purchase a gift for me in return! I bought it for you because I wished to do so. Please, keep it."

"As you wish" replies Spock as he starts to turn around and head back to where he was. "Wait!"

He turns back around to look at her enquiringly. "Aren't' you going to open it?" she enquires hesitantly.

He glances back down to the box in his hands, and notices a label he had not noticed before. It reads simply: Dear Spock, I know you do not celebrate Christmas, but I would wish that you have a pleasant day all the same. With Love, Christine.

"Is that a requirement also?" he looks back at her. She nods at him. "Very well."

He meticulously and carefully peels the wrapping away from the gift to reveal the full published works of Shakespeare.

"I know that you have an interest in Terran literature and poetry. I hoped maybe that you didn't already own these." She wrings her hands anxiously and does not meet his eyes.

"I do not," he does not look up from his present. "... Thank you"

Nurse Chapel looks up at him with a radiant smile on her face "Oh, you are welcome Mr. Spock! I am so glad it pleases you."

He inclines his head at her, and moves back to take his spot on the outside of the circle, the officers once again parting to let him through. "Wait!"

He turns around again, and looks this time at Captain Kirk who had yelled out to him. The Captain is grinning sheepishly at him. "I... um, have a gift for you too."

"I see" Spock remains where he is as he watches Jim walk over to the gifts and then come over towards him holding a small square box with red wrapping paper and a gold bow on top.

"Merry Christmas Spock, I know you don't celebrate it but I wanted to get something for you. It's a tradition. I always get my closest friends a gift. You... don't have to get me anything either. Frankly, I'd have been quite surprised if you had!" he chuckles at Spock good-naturedly and hands him the small box.

This time Spock does not need prompting as he knows he is supposed to open the gift in the Captain's presence. He once again carefully removes the bow and the wrapping paper to reveal a simple cardboard box. He opens the top of the box and reaches in to pull out the item within. He hears a loud laugh coming from the crows, which sounded suspiciously like Bones, as he reveals the item that had been inside the box. It is a square shaped object, much like the box that had contained it. It itself is covered in coloured squares.

Spock looks up at Kirk, an eyebrow raised in question. Kirk beams at him and proudly exclaims "It's a rubix cube!"

This clarifies nothing for Spock as he has never heard of such an item before.

This doesn't seem to deter the Captain in any way as he proceeds to explain to Spock that it is a human toy, based on logic. He explains to him that to solve the puzzle he has to move the sections of the cube around until each side is only one colour.

"Fascinating" replies Spock staring down at the cube in his hands, and moving the sections once he realised that they can in fact move.

"See, I thought you might enjoy it because it's logical but it's of Terran origin! They first made these puzzles way back in the 21st century" says Kirk proudly, pleased that his friend seems to find his gift entertaining at least.


	4. Chapter 4

_Somewhere in Shi'Kahr, Vulcan (25__th__ December 2236):_

The three family members are sitting around their dining table having a traditional Christmas meal that Amanda had earlier programmed into the replicator. Sarek is sitting at the head of the table, Amanda to his left, and Spock to his right. Spock is sportingly wearing a red paper crown on his head, much to his mother's obvious delight. Sarek had politely declined to wear a similar hat, although Amanda is wearing a green one herself.

There is some faint Christmas music playing in the background courtesy of the computer. Amanda had carefully selected a playlist of songs that both her husband and son would not find detestable, so nothing like 'Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer' or anything of that ilk.

After they have finished eating their meal Amanda declares that it is time to distribute the Christmas gifts and so the three of them move over towards the tree and settle around it. She kneels down by the base of the tree and grabs a large-ish rectangular box that is on top of the pile. Standing back up she turns around to face her son and hands the present to him, wishing him a Merry Christmas as she does so.

Spock gazes curiously down at the present in his hands, it is wrapped in colourful paper of red and green and gold, with tiny snowflakes in silver dotted around it. "Well don't just look at it!" says Amanda, causing Spock to look back up at her, "Open it!"

He carefully opens the wrapping paper so as not to rip it, much to his mother's amused frustration, and reveals a beautiful chess board within it. It appears to be made of marble, and upon opening the coverings at each side of the board Spock locates the chess pieces within. They are also made of marble and have been carved with great attention to detail.

He examines one of the Queens and informs his mother that he is quite pleased with her gift at which she smiles at him happily. She then turns to face her husband and declares that she has something for him too, and after rummaging around in back of the pile she brings out a tall, rectangle shaped box. This one is covered in mostly silver wrapping paper with a gold bow around it. "Merry Christmas my husband" she says as she hands it to him.

Upon opening the box Sarek finds a bottle of expensive Vulcan wine, and he thanks her politely for this gift and invites her to share a glass with him later to which she gladly accepts. He then asks to be excused momentarily and exits the room, leaving Amanda with her son who is still examining the chess pieces.

Whilst Sarek is gone Amanda helps Spock to clear some room for the chess board, with the suggestion that they can play a few games together, and when Sarek returns he finds them sitting at the table with the chess board between them. They had opted to wait for his return before starting the game however.

In his hands Sarek holds a small gift-wrapped package, much to Amanda's surprise as she had not expected him to participate in the festivities so directly. "Where have you been hiding that?" she laughingly inquires of him as he reaches them at the table. "Ah, excellent" he replies "I had hoped that you had not accidently stumbled upon it before this day" he does not answer her question, but instead hands the gift to her.

Amanda takes a moment to study it, going against her incessant curiosity, before she opens it. Sarek has wrapped the gift in plain gold wrapping paper with a silver bow around it, much like her own gift to him she thinks amused at the comparison. He has not placed any label upon his however.

She quickly rips the paper away, causing both Vulcans in the room to look on in slight alarm, and reveals a small velvet box within. Upon opening the box she gasps as she sees a beautiful silver necklace within, with matching earrings. She is delighted at the unexpected gift and tells him so.

"I had hoped the gift would please you" he informs her "I thought you would find it aesthetically pleasing. I had gathered from the customs of this time that it would have been more than likely that you would have purchased a gift for me, and I did not wish to disappoint you by not returning the gesture."

She thanks him profusely for the gift, although she explains that she would not have been disappointed had he not purchased one for her as she had not been expecting him to follow customs that he did not usually follow.

Spock also seems surprised by his father's actions and decides that if his father can find logic in the situation then so can he and he will celebrate Christmas each year for his mother, as it does seem to please her so. He only wished that he had thought to purchase a gift for her too, but there was always next year.


End file.
